Wallace Allan Smart. Winnipeg Evening Tribune, page 2. 24 July 1944.
J18660 Flying Officer Wallace Allan Smart
Service Personnel Information
Name: Wallace Allan Smart
Regimental Number: J18660
Rank: Flying Officer
Height/weight: 170 cm/63 kg
Colour of eyes: Hazel
Marital status: Single
Religion: Roman Catholic
Address: 256 Montrose Street
Next of Kin (and relationship): Mrs. Wallace Victor Smart (Ellen Jarvis Champion)
Date of enlistment:
City and province of enlistment: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Essay
Born in Folkestone, England, UK, Wallace Smart moved to Winnipeg at a very early age. He attended Robert H. Smith School when he was young. Smart was a young man of 18 when he graduated St. Paul’s College, studying various subjects such as French, English, General Mathematics, Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, and Bookkeeping. As a high school student, Smart enjoyed playing football, rugby, hockey, bowling, curling, golf, and tennis. One of his favourite hobbies was model planes. After high school, he worked at the Canadian Steamship Lines as a bellhop from June to October 1934, and than moved to work as a clerk at the Hudson’s Bay Company in June of 1935. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in September of 1940 as a pilot, with only five hours of passenger flight experience.
Smart's family home at 256 Montrose Street in the present day.(River Heights, Winnipeg, MB)
Smart was a healthy young man, who had no evidence of any serious health problems upon a medical examination, other than some nasal trouble at the age of 14. He stood at 170 centimetres tall and 63 kilogrammes. He has a scar above his left ankle that could be used as an identification mark. He had brown hair and hazel eyes, with satisfactory condition of mouth and teeth.
Smart was described to have “quick, deliberate, and organized” intelligence during his initial interview with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and described as a healthy, rugged, medium-height man with a ruddy appearance, yet refined and clean, with a taste in fashion. He was confident, pleasant to be around, yet described as immature. It was decreed he was fit for life in the Royal Canadian Air Force, an above-average applicant.
Smart grew up in his family home on 256 Montrose St. in River Heights. He lived in that house with his brother, David Champion Smart, two sisters – Edyth Smart, and Shiela Raud Stevens., and his mother, Ellen Jarvis Champion, and his father, Wallace Victor Smart, who died 3 February 1927.
At around 2:30 post-meridian on the 3rd of July 1944, Smart died in a plane accident during an attempt to land his plane near Loddiswell, South Devon, England. He had been flying a Supermarine Spitfire VB, a plane flown primarily by the Royal Air Force. The Supermarine Spitfire VB was a solo plane, so only one person was able to be in it at a time. Before the accident, Smart had been reporting mechanical problems, and was then ordered to return to base. The temperature gauge on his plane was reading between and fluctuating from around 90 to 120 degrees. He had struck the tip of a telegraph pole, and attempted a forced landing, crashing in flames nearly two kilometres from the scene of the accident. The telegraph pole was situated on a ridge above the airfield.
Spitfire Mk Vb (Royal Air Force, note the fin flashes and roundel). from Wikimedia Commons.
Many Winnipeggers in the Second World War joined the Air Force to support the war cause. This could not be happenstance, it may be because 17 Wing is located in Winnipeg, and has been located in Winnipeg since 1932, allowing it time to establish itself in the Winnipeg community. With its establishment in the Winnipeg community before the Second World War, many locals may have been attracted to it to support the war effort. The war effort was widely popular during the war, supporting troops across seas with various things such as dairy rationing, metal rationing, and even joining the military, with as many people aiding as possible.
Military Service Record
Age (at death): 27
Force: Royal Canadian Air Force
Unit: 64 Squadron
Regimental Number: J18660
Next of Kin (and relationship): Mrs. Wallace Victor Smart (Ellen Jarvis Champion)
Date of Death: 3 July 1944
Country of Burial: United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Cemetery: Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference: 52.A.1
Location: Surrey, England (UK)
Book of Remembrance: Page 445 (1944)
64 Squadron emblem, Royal Air Force
Smart in the Book of Remembrance for World War II. Veteran Affairs Canada.
"Casualty List (RCAF)." //Winnipeg Evening Tribune// 24 July 1944: 7. //Manitobia//. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1944/07/24/articles/85.xml/ iarchives?query=Wallace%2BAND%2BAllan%2BAND%2BSmart%2BAND%2Bdoctype%3Anewspapers>. Official casualty list, states Smart was killed on active service overseas, and whom his next-of-kin is.
Commonwealth Graves Commission. "Casualty details for Smart, Wallace Allan." //Commonwealth Graves// //Commission//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.cwgc.org/>. Used to find grave location, &c
"History - 17 Wing." //Royal Canadian Air Force//. Government of Canada, 11 Aug. 19. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/17w-17e/page-eng.asp?id=205>. Used for hypothesis on why so many Winnipeggers ended up in RCAF.
Royal Canadian Air Force. Military records for Smart, W.A. N.d. Military Records. Military records used to find service information.
- - -. "RCAF." //Royal Canadian Air Forces - forces.gc.ca//. Government of Canada, 12 Aug. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/v2/index-eng.asp>. Used for information on RCAF and squadrons
Veteran Affairs Canada. "Book of Remembrance 1944." //Books of Remembrance// . Government of Canada, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/books/bww2>. Used to locate W.A. Smart in the Book of Remembrance, page 445, 1944.
//Winnipeg Evening Tribune// 24 July 1944: 2. //Manitobia//. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://manitobia.ca/ content/en/newspapers/WPT/1944/07/24/articles/18.xml/ iarchives?query=Wallace%2BAND%2BAllan%2BAND%2BSmart%2BAND%2Bdoctype%3Anewspapers>. Reporting of death in Winnipeg Evening Tribune
J18660 Flying Officer Wallace Allan Smart
Service Personnel Information
Name: Wallace Allan Smart
Essay
Born in Folkestone, England, UK, Wallace Smart moved to Winnipeg at a very early age. He attended Robert H. Smith School when he was young. Smart was a young man of 18 when he graduated St. Paul’s College, studying various subjects such as French, English, General Mathematics, Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, and Bookkeeping. As a high school student, Smart enjoyed playing football, rugby, hockey, bowling, curling, golf, and tennis. One of his favourite hobbies was model planes. After high school, he worked at the Canadian Steamship Lines as a bellhop from June to October 1934, and than moved to work as a clerk at the Hudson’s Bay Company in June of 1935. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in September of 1940 as a pilot, with only five hours of passenger flight experience.Smart was a healthy young man, who had no evidence of any serious health problems upon a medical examination, other than some nasal trouble at the age of 14. He stood at 170 centimetres tall and 63 kilogrammes. He has a scar above his left ankle that could be used as an identification mark. He had brown hair and hazel eyes, with satisfactory condition of mouth and teeth.
Smart was described to have “quick, deliberate, and organized” intelligence during his initial interview with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and described as a healthy, rugged, medium-height man with a ruddy appearance, yet refined and clean, with a taste in fashion. He was confident, pleasant to be around, yet described as immature. It was decreed he was fit for life in the Royal Canadian Air Force, an above-average applicant.
Smart grew up in his family home on 256 Montrose St. in River Heights. He lived in that house with his brother, David Champion Smart, two sisters – Edyth Smart, and Shiela Raud Stevens., and his mother, Ellen Jarvis Champion, and his father, Wallace Victor Smart, who died 3 February 1927.
At around 2:30 post-meridian on the 3rd of July 1944, Smart died in a plane accident during an attempt to land his plane near Loddiswell, South Devon, England. He had been flying a Supermarine Spitfire VB, a plane flown primarily by the Royal Air Force. The Supermarine Spitfire VB was a solo plane, so only one person was able to be in it at a time. Before the accident, Smart had been reporting mechanical problems, and was then ordered to return to base. The temperature gauge on his plane was reading between and fluctuating from around 90 to 120 degrees. He had struck the tip of a telegraph pole, and attempted a forced landing, crashing in flames nearly two kilometres from the scene of the accident. The telegraph pole was situated on a ridge above the airfield.
Many Winnipeggers in the Second World War joined the Air Force to support the war cause. This could not be happenstance, it may be because 17 Wing is located in Winnipeg, and has been located in Winnipeg since 1932, allowing it time to establish itself in the Winnipeg community. With its establishment in the Winnipeg community before the Second World War, many locals may have been attracted to it to support the war effort. The war effort was widely popular during the war, supporting troops across seas with various things such as dairy rationing, metal rationing, and even joining the military, with as many people aiding as possible.
Military Service Record
Grave Reference
Additional information/links
Citations
Bibliography
Archival Reference
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